As a follow-up to my last post...

[x-cyclops.livejournal.com]

Could we please designate the Hellfire Club as hostile territory of the 'Do not go fucking go there' type now?

This has been playing with fire all along, to foster connections with them. I suppose there's an argument to be made for keeping the lines of communication open, but exactly how many times do we let the Inner Circle hurt our kids before we stop giving them the opportunity?

Pete's gone to talk to Emma. To be perfectly honest, I don't care what she has to say for herself. Unless she was being similarly restrained and assaulted in another room while this was going on, she's proven herself untrustworthy when it comes to the welfare of our students, as far as I'm concerned.

I'm thinking a blanket ban for minor students on any contact with any member of the Hellfire Club, including Emma, wouldn't be going too far. As for student who are of age, right now I'm leaning towards the idea of no contact with the Hellfire Club being a requirement of their tenure here. Any thoughts?

As for those of you on the team... this is me being dictatorial and overbearing. Anyone who would like to continue taking orders from me will not get themselves involved in any way with the Hellfire Club, except in case of emergency, with suitable back-up on hand if humanly possible.

Edited to add: Scratch the dictatorial and overbearing part. I'm spoken to those of you who have business relationships with companies associated with the Hellfire Club (with the exception of Betsy, of course, who's still unconscious) and I'm satisfied that the risk can be managed. As for social contacts, if you report to me, you report on them. I think we've had enough incidents at this point that you're all aware of how stupid it would be to go into that place without back-up, so I'll leave it at that.

Comments

Merde

[x-jetstream.livejournal.com]

I have a problem, then.

I have no ties to Hellfire whatsoever, but Emma Frost's company, Frost Electronics, are the people who wrote the firmware and software for my cybernetics.

I'm willing to follow your orders and sever all ties, but I am also letting you know that this could be a real problem for me as we move down the road.

I do have a copy in source and binary form of the latest CVS pull of the major software bundles that drive things. I wasn't due for a tech-refresh for another few months.

So how do we want to play it?

Haroun

Re: Merde

[x-bamf.livejournal.com]

If it came to the pinch, we do now have a student whose mutation is to be a technical and electronic genius. Given the right parts and appropriate specs, he might be a more than acceptable substitute for Frost Electronics...

I'd like to avoid that for as long as possible.

[x-jetstream.livejournal.com]

I mean no offense, but this is my _anatomy_ we're talking about here.

This Forge kid may be good, but I'm not sure I want to turn over something this important to him right away.

Salaam,
Haroun

Damn it.

[x-cyclops.livejournal.com]

This is what happens when you get yourself into a snit, however righteous; important things slip your mind.

I have no problem with you maintaining what is essentially a necessary business relationship with Emma's company. As you pointed out, Frost Electronics is not the Hellfire Club.

I would however like you to keep me updated on your contacts with her, and if an update requires you to have direct contact with her or any of her employees, I want you to take a friend. Preferably a telepathic one.

Sound workable?

Perfectly.

[x-jetstream.livejournal.com]

Any contacts will be reported. Any meetings will be accompanied by a telepath, preferably a strong one.

Not a problem, Chief. Just wanted to head off a problem at the pass.

Salaam,
Haroun

PS - Do we have a file started on this Selene creature?

[x-cyclops.livejournal.com]

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I think this is something we need to remember more often around here.

As for Selene, the file is fairly extensive. Not as extensive as it should be, but I suppose we'll have a little more to add to it after last night.

[x-dazzler.livejournal.com]

I'll review my notes from the last encounter and make sure I didn't forget anything in my report back then.

And if nothing else, Charles can walk me through the memory again.

[x-gambit.livejournal.com]

As for those of you on the team... this is me being dictatorial and overbearing. Anyone who would like to continue taking orders from me will not get themselves involved in any way with the Hellfire Club, except in case of emergency, with suitable back-up on hand if humanly possible.

I'm not on any team, and this is likely not the best place to say it, but I don't see another venue.

Cutting off all interaction with the Hellfire Club is a bad thing. One, it puts us very firmly in the enemy camp in their minds, and the one thing the Hellfire Club, local and international has, is a lot of power. They used to have the money to hire me, and that puts them over the level of most nation-states. If they view us as the enemy, with they can and are willing to do makes Stryker look like schoolyard fight.

Secondly, we cut off all intelligence, and we're blind no matter what happens. Even if they don't go after us, they'll go after others and we will not have the slightest clue what's going on. We might not be able to stop the bombs, but we can at least make sure we're not where they are landing.

It's your call, Scott, but I think it's a mistake.

[x-cyclops.livejournal.com]

So what are you suggesting, Remy?

I am not bending when it comes to the kids. Not under any circumstances. Call it the 'three strikes and you're out' rule.

As for the rest of us, precisely how are we not in the enemy camp already? They clearly have no fear of anything we can do to them - which is fair, because they know damned well that we can't afford to start a losing war with the Hellfire Club. There are other ways to get intelligence besides leaving ourselves open to be exploited at whim.

[x-gambit.livejournal.com]

Right now we're not an enemy. This school is too tied into the club, with the Worthingtons, the Braddocks, even Xavier's family is on the register. We're a piece on the board, either asset or liability to others. That means we're looked at as something to be exploited, or manipulated, or betrayed. But we start cutting ties, remove the possibility advantages to them, start looking like a threat, and we'll be seen as something to be destroyed.

Whether personally acceptable or not, the best defense we may have is bolstering Emma Frost's position in the Inner Circle. As long as they are fighting each other for control, they're not fighting us.

More importantly, if they feel we're still in the game, that gives us rare and slim chances to manipulate it for our own ends. It also puts us at risk of being exploited.

There is no good solution, Scott. I'm the first to agree with that, but this school hasn't come up against the Hellfire Club yet. We skirmished with the Black Circle and some individuals. For all we know, Manuel's attack was a personal affair between him and his father, and not the IC itself. But if you cut everything off, you're drawing a line in the sand. And, trust me on this homme, they'll step over it if you do.

[x-cyclops.livejournal.com]

I'll wait and hear what Emma had to say for herself. That's all the compromise I'm willing to make right now.

But the kids stay away. Each and every single one of them. I can't justify the risk anymore.

[x-gambit.livejournal.com]

I'll wait and hear what Emma had to say for herself. That's all the compromise I'm willing to make right now.

Just remember that our options are limited, Scott. And taking what is the morally or ethically correct stance to prove something could still get a lot of people killed as a result.

[x-cyclops.livejournal.com]

You think this is about morals and ethics?

Any other day, I'd find that funny.

[x-gambit.livejournal.com]

You're talking about cutting off all intelligence and communications, and just maybe dumping us in a war with powerful people because you're afraid that Emma Frost isn't trustworthy and we might get exploited.

Also, you just laid down the law for people who have day to day dealings with HFC organizations, like Worthington Industries. Enforcing that is going to make people notice, Scott. You up the stakes, they're going to up them right back.

It's reckless tactically, strategically, and operationally, and increases the amount of danger to the school and students. Which means if it's not a moral or ethical decision, I can't understand why you're making it.

[x-cyclops.livejournal.com]

First of all, I was under the impression that I'd already backed down when it comes to cutting off all communication? Haroun already pointed out how unfeasible it is to break off certain business relationships. I've talked to Warren and Moira already today about their business ties. What do I need to do, LeBeau? Wander around mea culpa-ing until you're satisfied I learned my lesson?

But the kids are non-negotiable. Unless you can provide me with some sort of plausible way in which letting them wander into the Hellfire Club and come back to the medlab somehow serves the greater good.

[x-gambit.livejournal.com]

You know what, homme, if you're not listening, there's no point in me talking. Do what you think is best.

[x-juggernaut.livejournal.com]

I can't believe I'm siding with you on this. The kids shouldn't be out places like that anyway - I've heard of what goes on there.

But regardless, whatever happened, happened THERE and not HERE. Small comfort, but what're the odds these two delinquents (and don't get on me for calling them that, you know them as well as I do - troublemakers the both of them) got in over their heads with that stuff?

Doesn't mean it's someone overly hostile - could be our little witch just bit off more than she could chew.

[x-juggernaut.livejournal.com]

Point of order there, oh housemate. It ain't Xavier's family that's on the rolls.

[x-gambit.livejournal.com]

Bet the wig and pointy shoes look great on you, homme

[x-juggernaut.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't dream of raiding your footlocker, cupcake.

There actually used to be Hellfire Club galas held here, back in the late thirties. Up until Brian Xavier died, and he passed his membership over to my father instead of Charles, since Chuck wasn't more than ten at the time. My old man didn't have the time for their 'frivolity' as he called it, and I suppose his membership passed down to me. Few months back before the blowup with Shaw, I got a call from a Mr. Leland regarding sponsorship.

I ain't planning on going anytime soon, but in the interest of full disclosure - they know I'm here. I've already turned down Shaw's offer, and I ain't got plans to entertain any others, for the record.

[x-cable.livejournal.com]

I want to know why retaliation isn't an option. Really.

We don't even have to do it ourselves, for pity's sake. I could make a couple of phone calls and the European assets and facilities of the Inner Circle members would start vanishing in a week or two.

And no, I'm not proposing using the Pack. I'm not stupid. I have plenty of contracts with other mercenary groups, a number of which have preexisting reasons to dislike the Hellfire Club.

[x-gambit.livejournal.com]

Shaw's not stupid either, Nathan. And he's got a hell of a lot more money and assets to buy off good mercenaries and assassins. Someone starts making a systematic assault on the Hellfire Club's international assets, he's not going to stop until he finds out who.

That crosses a big fucking black line. Especially in his mind.

And I'll tell you a little of what he'd do, because they've done it before. He won't strike the school directly. At least not yet. But Xavier's portfolio goes under protracted assault financially from not just Shaw Industries, but a hell of a lot of other smaller firms. He pulls out an old copy of the CNN special on the school, and students start losing family members in 'mysterious' accidents or discover that Mom and Dad are now bankrupt. Then they start talking to the politicians he has under sway, and President McKenna goes under major fire for his mutant positions. To save his job, he's got to give more latitute to military and civilian agencies to track and investigate mutants. That means Shaw Industries start making nice fat paychecks while building arms directly against mutant threats.

Then he comes after us.

[x-cable.livejournal.com]

The people I'm talking about have old grudges with Shaw entirely separate from mine or the Pack's. He goes looking for who and why, and he'll find ancient history with no link to back here. I know of at least one person who would probably give me a significant discount just for the privilege of hitting Shaw and his friends where it counts.

Not a solution - I know damned well he's got more money that the rest of us put together to throw around - but a little confusion to one's enemies never hurt.

[x-cyclops.livejournal.com]

No, Nathan.

[x-cable.livejournal.com]

Fine.